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PROCEEDINGS AND RESOLUTIONS 



OF THE 



INDIANA SOLDIERS, 



IN THE 



DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND." 



TO THE INDIANA LEGISLATURE. 



TOGETHER WITH 



LETTERS OF GEN. ROSECRANS, COL. C. L. DUNHAM, 

&c, &c. 



INDIANAPOLIS: 

INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL COMPANY, PRINTERS. 



1863. 







4- 









PROCEEDINGS AND RESOLUTIONS 



OF THE 



INDIANA SOLDIERS. 



Murfreesboro, Tenn., January 22, 1863. 

At a called meeting of the officers of the Indiana Regiments in 
the field, in the Department of the Cumberlan<l, a majority of the 
Regiments were represented, and, on motion of Col. John T. Wilder, 
17th Indiana Volunteers, 

Lieutenant Colonel James T. Embree, 58th Indiana Volunteers, 
was called to the Chair, and Lieutenant Frank Riddell, 37th Indiana 
Volunteers, and A. C. S., 2d Division, Center, was chosen Secretary. 

When, at the request of the President, Col. J. T. Wilder, in a few 
brief remarks, stated the object of the meeting. 

On motion, a committee of three was appointed to prepare a me- 
morial and resolutions, expressive of the sense of the meeting, touch- 
ing those interests which will be presented for the action of the In- 
diana Legislature, in which the interests of the soldiers are especially 
involved. 

Said committee consisted of Col. John T. Wilder, 17th Indiana; 
Col. Morton C. Hunter, 82d Indiana; and Major Clark Willis, 51st 
Indiana ; and, at the request of the committee, and by consent of the 
meeting, Chaplain John II. Lozier, 37th Indiana, was added to said 
committee. 

The committee then retired, and, upon returning, reported a memo- 
rial and resolutions to the members of the General Assembly of the 
State of Indiana, which, upon motion, was unanimously adopted. 

On motion, copies of said memorial and resolutions were ordered 
to be furnished to all the Indiana regiments in the Army of the Cum- 
berland in the vicinity of Murfreesboro, with the request that the 
same be read to all the members of the several regiments, for their 
approval or disapproval, by vote, and submitted to the officers of said 
regiments for their signatures. 

IX V 



On motion, the meeting then adjourned to meet at this room at 1 
o'clock, P. M., January 26, 18b3, to receive the reports of the sev- 
eral Regiments, and to take further action thereon. 

Lieut. Col. JAS. T. EMBREE, Pres't. 

F. Riddell, Secretary. 



Murfreesboro, Tenn., January 26, 1863. 

Pursuant to adjournment, the meeting of the officers of Indiana 
Regiments convened. The meeting was called to order by the Presi- 
dent, and, the Secretary being absent on duty, Major W. T. B. Mcln- 
tire, 42d Indiana, was appointed Secretary pro tern. 

A call being made for reports upon the memorial and resolutions, 
the following regiments responded: Gth, 15th, 22d, 29th, 30th, 32d, 
37th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 42d, 44th, 51st, 57th, 58th, 73d, 75th, 79th, 
82d, 80th, 88th, and 101st Regiments of Infantry, and the 5th, 7th, 
8th and 10th Batteries of Artillery, reported the result of the votes 
in their respective Regiments, which result is appended to the memo- 
rial and resolutions hereto attached. 

On motion of Chaplain John H. Lozicr, Col. Scribner, 38th Indi- 
ana, commanding 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Center ; Col. J. B. Dodge, 
30th Indiana, commanding 2d Brigade, 2d Division, Right, and Lieut. 
Col. J. C. Aldrich, 44th Indiana, were appointed a committee to re- 
ceive said -reports, and such others as may be hereafter presented, to 
prepare the same for transmission, in f-uch form and by such mode as 
in their judgment seemed most expedient. 

By request of the meeting, Chaplain Lozier read to the meeting 
an address to the citizens of Indiana, which, on motion of Col. Wilder, 
was unanimously adopted and referred to the above committee, to be 
disposed of in like manner as the memorial and resolutions. 

Said committee adjourned to meet at this room, on Wednesday, 
Jauuary 28, 18tf3, at \\ o'clock, P. M., when, on motion, the meet- 
ing adjourned sine die. 

Lt, Col. JAMES T. EMBREE, Pres't. 

F. Riddell, Secretary. 

To the General Assembly of the State of Indiana : 

The undersigned, officers and soldiers of the Indiana Volunteer 
Regiments, submitting with patriotic self-denial to the policy which 
denied us a voice in the late election, and approving the wisdom of 
that feature of our Government which secures the civil from the influ- 
ence of the military power, nevertheless desire to participate in the 
preliminary councils which are to shape the popular ideas of the State, 
and consequently to control the actions of its Representatives in the 



General Assembly. We speak, as soldiers, because our lives are 
staked upon the issue of the present struggle ; as citizens, because, 
at no distant day, those of us who survive are to share with you the 
responsibilities of citizenship, and to experience, in common with the 
people at home, the results of your present deliberations. 

Whatever prejudice may exist against any interference of the mili- 
tary in the affairs of State, certainly even the most vigilant guardian 
of the public interest could not expect the army to await with indif- 
ference the result of deliberations which involve not only the com- 
mon interests of the people, but also the lives and fortunes of those 
who have taken up arms to defend the integrity of the Union in a 
contest with our common foe in the field. 

Defeat strips the citizen of his fortune and political enjoyment ; 
the soldier of both these, and his honor, and, it may be, his life. 

It requires no argument to convince an intelligent mind that a war 
sustained by a united people, and waged with that energy and deter- 
mination which proceeds only from undivided councils, presents a less 
fearful array of casualties, with a better hope of success, than a slug- 
glish contest waged by a party, and merely sustained in the wrang- 
ling of contending factions at home. In other words, it requires 
more lives to sustain a government hampered and restricted by the 
jealousy of a political party, than to sustain one supported by the 
voice of a united people ; as well might you expect the fettered vic- 
tim to struggle, successfully with his untrammeled oppressor, as to 
hope for a nation to subdue its enemies when its energies are cramped 
by the unwise restrictions of a doubting majority. 

To live in spite of disease, every function must be characterized by 
the utmost vigor, and all must unite against the enemy who seeks in 
the destruction of one the certain ruin of the whole. 

Believing then that, as soldiers, we have a deeper interest in the 
present struggle than you can possibly have, as citizens; and farther, 
that the influences of military life have not unfitted us for the high 
duties of citizenship, present ourselves before your Honorable Body 
as petitioners, without apology. 

We come boldly, asking only what we have a right to expect, either 
as citizens, or soldiers battling for the integrity of the Union. We 
ask simply that you will give this war a cheeerful and hearty support; 
that you will strengthen and energize every department of Govern- 
ment, that this unhappy struggle may be pressed to a successful ter- 
mination ; that you will pour out the treasure of the State as your 
soldiers have poured out their blood on the field of battle, to aid in 
the holy cause of restoring the Union of our fathers ; that you will 
abstain from heated political discussions and violent party wranglings, 
until the authority of the Government is once more established ; that 
you will resist the infernal spirit that would waste victory in humili- 
ating compromise, or render temporary reverses a pretext for the 
alienation of an unoffending community; that you will sacrifice every 
thing, except liberty and political equality, to national integrity; 
that you will sustain all the officers of the State and General Govern- 



ment in their efforts to subdue this unholy rebellion; and especially 
that you will sustain our worthy Governor, whose every energy, dur- 
ing the past two years, has been so entirely devoted to the cause of 
the Government and its supporters. 

We appeal to you, especially, to sustain him for the reason that it 
is chiefly to his unceasing care and labor, exhibited in arming and 
supporting the troops of Indiana, that we have to attribute our pre- 
sent proud position among the loyal States of the Union, and for the 
further reason, that he has demonstrated by his acts that he is an 
earnest and zealous patriot, devoting his time with untiring energy 
to the glorious cause for which we are battling. 

We appeal to you, as our Representatives, to encourage him in the 
good work of ministering to the wants of our unfortunate comrades, 
who have been stricken down in the strife of the battle field, and by 
the cruelty of relentless disease; that you will confer on him all the 
necessary authority, and place in his hands the requisite means, to 
carry on the good work which he has begun, remembering that one 
human life is worth all the treasures of the proudest State. 

In conclusion, we propose the following resolutions to be adopted 
by the Legislature of Indiana, and to constitute the basis of all their 
acts, ba^ed upon the interests involved in the foregoing address : 

1. Resolved, That we are unconditionally and determinedly in 
favor of the preservation of the Union. 

2. Resolved, That in order to the preservation of the Union, we 
are in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war. 

3. Resolved, That we will sustain our State and Federal authori- 
ties, with money and supplies, in all their efforts to sustain the Union 
and prosecute the war. 

4. Resolved, That we will discountenance every faction and influ- 
ence tending to create animosities at home, or to afford consolation 
and hope to our enemies in arms, and that Ave will co- operate only 
with those who will stand by the Union, and by those who are fight- 
ing the battles of the Union. 

5. Resolved, That we tender to His Excellency, Governor 0. P. 
Morton, the thanks of his grateful friends in the army, for his extra- 
ordinary efforts in their behalf, and assure him that neither time nor 
the corrupting influence of party shall ever estrange the soldier from 
the soldier's friend. 

We, the undersigned, heartily endorse the foregoing preamble and 
resolutions : 

J. J. REYNOLDS, Major General. 
JOHN LEVERING, Capt. and A. Q. M. 
ALEX. A. RICE, Lieut, and A. A. A. G. 
MILO S. HASCALL, Brigadier General. 
ED. R, KUSTETTER, Capt. and A. A. G. 



W. P. McKINSEY, Lieut. 40th Ind. Vols, and Aid- 

de-Camp. 
JOHN T. WILDER, Col. 17th Ind. Vols., Com'd'g 

1st Brig., 5th Div., 14th Army Corps. 
GREEN F. SHIELDS, Lieut, and A. A. A. G., 14th 

Army Corps. 
J S. DOWNEY, Lient. and A. D. C. 
II. S. DRURY, 1st Lieut., A. C. S., 1st Brigade, 5th 

Division. 

We certify that the foregoing memorial and resolutions were read 
to our Regiments and a vote taken, each resolution separately read, 
was acquiesced in, and the whole accepted as a unanimous wish of the 
Regiments. 

H. Trip, Lieut. Col. Com'd'g 6th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
John M. Comparet, Major Commanding loth Reg. 

Ind. Volunteers. 
Henry Jordan, Lieut. Col. Commanding 17th Reg. 

Ind. Volunteers. 
M. Gooding, Col. 22d Reg. Ind. Volunteers. 
J. P. Collins, Major Com'd'g 29th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
J. B. Dodge, Col. 80th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
P. Esdelmeyer, Lieut. Col. Com'd'g 32d Reg. Indiana 

Volunteers. 
James T. Hull, Col. 37th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
B. F. Scribner, Col. 38th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
Pat. Thomas Herring, Capt. Commanding S9th Reg. 

Ind. Volunteers. 
II. Leaming, Major Com'd'g 40th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
Wm. T. B. McIntyre, Major Com'd'g 42d Reg. Ind. 

Volunteers. 
J. C. Aldrich, Col. 44th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
A. D. Streigiit, Col. 5tst Reg. Ind. Vols. 
John J. McGkaw, Capt. Com'd'g 57th R°g. Ind. Vols. 
James T. Embree, Lieut. Col. Com'ding 58th Reg. 

Ind. Volunteers. 
A. 0. Millbb, Col. 72d Reg. Ind. Vols. 
J. N. Walker, Capt. Com'd'g 73d Reg. Ind. Vols. 
Milton S. Robertson, Col. 75th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
Fred. Kneffler, Col. 79th Reg. Ind. Vols. 
Morton C. Hunter, Col. 82d Reg. Ind. Vols. 
George F. Dick, Col. 8Gth Reg. Ind. Vols. 
C E. Briant, Lt. Col. Com'd'g 88th Reg. Ind. Vola. 
Thos. Doan, Lt. Col. Com'd'g 101st Reg. Ind. Vola. 
Alfred Morrison, 1st Lieut. Com'd'g 5th Ind. Bat'y. 
George R. Swallow, Capt. 7th Ind. Battery. 
George Estep, 1st Lieut. Com'd'g 8th Ind. Battery. 
Wm. II. Waylor, 1st Lieut. Com'd'g 10th Ind. Bat. 



NOBLE LETTER FROM GENERAL ROSEORANS, 

On Tuesday last, in the Ohio Legislature, a message was received 
from the Governor, enclosing the following letter from the gallant 
General Rosecrans : 

Head Quarters Department op the Cumberland, 
Murfreesboro', Tenn., February 3, 1863. 

To the Honorable the General Assembly 

of the State of Ohio: 

The resolution of thanks passed by your honorable body to the 
Army of the Cumberland, its Commanding General and his staff, ha? 
been duly received, and published to the troops of his command. On 
behalf of all, I return you heartfelt thanks. 

This is, indeed, a war for the maintenance of the Constitution and 
the laws — nay, for national existence — against those who have des- 
pised our honest friendship, deceived our just hopes, and driven us 
to defend our country and our homes. By foul and wilful slanders 
on our motives and intentions, persistently repeated, they have ar- 
rayed against us our own fellow-citizens, bound to us by the triple 
ties of consanguinity, geographical position, and commercial interest. 

Let no man among us be base enough to forget this, or fool enough 
to trust an oligarchy of traitors to their friends, to civil liberty and 
human freedom. Voluntary exiles from home and friends, for the 
defence and safety of all, we long for the time when gentle peac« 
shall again spread her wings over our land: but we know no sue! 
blessing is possible while the unjust and arbitrary power of the rebel 
leaders confronts and threatens us. Crafty as the fox, cruel as the 
tiger, they cried " no coercion," while preparing to strike us. Bully 
like, the? proposed to fight us, because they said they could whip five 
to one, and now, when driven back, they whine out "no invasion," 
and promise us of the West permission to navigate the Mississippi, 
if we will be "good boys," and do as they bid us. 

Whenever they have the power, they drive before them into their 
ranks the Southern people, and they would also drive us. Trust them 
not. Were they able, they would invade and destroy us without mercy. 
Absolutely assured of these things, I am amazed that any one could 
think of " peace on any terms!'' He who entertains the sentiment is 
fit only to be a slave; he who utters it at this time is, moreover, a trai- 
tor to his country, tvho deserves the scorn and contempt of all honora- 
ble men. When the power of the unscrupulous rebel leaders is re- 
moved, and the people are free to consider and act for their own in- 
terests, which are common with ours, under this Government, there 
will be no great difficulty in fraternization. Between our tastes and 
social life there are fewer differences than between those of the peo- 
ple of the Northern and Southern Provinces of England or Ireland. 



Hoping the time may speedily come, when, the power of the per- 
fidious and cruel tyrant of this rebellion having been overthrown, a 
peace may be laid on the broad foundation of nationrl unity and 
equal justice to all, under the Constitution and Laws, I remain your 
fellow-citizen. 

W. S. ROSEtfRANS, Major-General. 



LETTER FROM COL. DUNHAM. 

The following letter is from Col. Cyrus L. Dunham, 50th Regi- 
ment Ind. Volunteers, a life-long Democrat, having served that party 
as Secretary of State, member of Congress, &c. 

i 

Headquarters Second Brioadk, 1 
Jackson, Tenn., Feb. 4, 18G3. / 

Governor : — This will be handed to you by Major Atkisson, of the 
glorious old 50th, who comes home to gather up our deserters; I 
hope he will have all the aid and influence you can give him. Vigo- 
rous measures must be adopted or our army, under the influence of 
the scoundrels and traitors at home who are, by their letters, scat- 
tering discontent amongst our soldiers, will be demoralized and des- 
troyed, and the scourge of this war will, in less than six months, be 
rolled back upon the fair fields of our own glorious North west. 

These men know not what they do, and if they expect any general 
f sympathy in the army they are reckoning without their host. 

I hope you will use your influence at Washington to get a law 
passed requiring all the U. S. Marshals and their deputies, all collec- 
tors of internal revenue and their deputies, to arrest all deserters and 
lodge them at the nearest military post, making it also a penal offence, 
indictable in the District Court of the United States, for one to har- 
bor or employ a deserter, knowing him to be such, and the know- 
ledge that the individual had been in the service of the United States 
should be prima facie evidence of knowledge that he was a deserter { 
making all contracts with a deserter void. Do not, for God's sake, 
let this army be so weakened that we shall be driven back in humilia- 
tion to witness the desolation of our own homes. 

Respectfully yours, 

C. L. DUNHAM. 



WHAT THE DEMOOEATS OF 1814 THOUGHT OF CON- 
SCRIPTION. 

Toward the close of the war an attempt was made in Congress to 
employ in the defense of the nation, a portion of the militia in a mode 
the most simple, the most practicable, the most efficient, and at the 
same time the least burdensome that was ever adopted in any coun- 
try. * * * Against this noble system of defense — so equitable, so 
just, so unexceptionable, so adequate to its end, so easy and free from 
burden to our citizens, so likely to bring the war to a close by con- 
vincing the enemy of the impossibility of making any imnression on 
us, there was a most hideous outcry raised in and out of Congress — 
an outcry highly disgraceful and factious. It was branded with the 
odious name of Conscription, and identified with the French system 
whereby the whole male propulation of France was subject to the 
despotic will and pleasure of the Executive. To the passions of the 
people the most inflammatory appeals were made. Many of our cit- 
izens were, by unceasing efforts, led to believe that the plan was 
wholty unprecedented in this country — that it was utterly unconsti- 
tutional and pernicious, and that it was intended as the basis of 8 
military despotism. And to such an awful extent w <s the frenzy 
carried, that open resistance was publicly threatened. It is hardly 
possible to conceive of a more awful or more disgraceful delusion. 
Never were the public gullibility and credulity more miserably played 
upon. 



WHAT THE DEMOCRATS OF 1814 THOUGHT ABOUT THE 
ONLY MODE OF DEALING WITH TREASON AND TRAP 
TORS. 

In every science there are some great leading truths which cannot 
be controverted. And in political economy there is no maxim more 
indubitable than this, that treason never was and never will be pro- 
pitiated bij forbearance. Since the world was formed never did a 
conspiracy meet with the same degree of immunity. M Our Palinurus 
slept at the helm." The mutineers had full scope for their activity. 
They made t'leir arrangements at leisure, as undisturbedly as if they 
were engaged in promoting the salvation of the State. To whatever 
cause this neglect may be ascribed, whether to torpor, inactivity, or 
reliance on the good sense of the nation, it casts an indelible stain on 
the Administration of Mr. Jefferson. 



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